Queensland's bid to become the next big player in Australia's race for space takes a giant leap forward as a rocket carrying Australia's first commercial payload is launched skyward in the state's southern outback.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dismissed calls for coal powered energy to be phased out by 2050, as recommended by the world's leading climate change body, the IPCC. But you don't have to convince Australian farmers of that - many who are already struggling with drought now accept that climate change is making the world a hotter place.

It won't be drought-breaking, but a weekend of heavy rainfall is expected to hit parts of Queensland this weekend, with up to 70 millimetres possible in some isolated areas, bringing some much-needed relief for farmers.